Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok, so friday i got home and my turtle (who is housed in a 100 gallon aquarium) had laid 2 eggs. 1 was sorta intact but broke in half and the other was crumbled into pieces.

i took her to a vet on saturday, she took x-rays and there are still more eggs in her. so on saturday and today(sunday) i am to give her shots: 2x a day-- .25 cc of calcium and .25cc of oxytocin. on monday i give her a break and i do the shots again on wednesday.

i got my waterland tub and filled the big part with water and the little part with 75% organic compost and 25% sand and a little bit of moss.

i also got her some fish to give her a treat and keep her occupied from the pain.

anyway, she hates the waterland tub and the vet told me that to keep her in the aquarium would be ok (eventhough all literature i've read has said the opposite).

so i put her in her tank last night and put her in the waterland tub this morning. and at around 4pm she was trying to jump out(which i know could be a sign of laying eggs...but she always acts like that)...so i put her in the tank...and she relaxed.

any advice?

Thanks
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0.0.1 Red Eared Slider

I have the same situation. My slider is around 12 years old, I took her to the vet thinking she had a gravel impaction, turns out she has 6 or 7 eggs to lay. I bought a black plastic pre-formed pond from my local Home Depot chain store for $125 back in May, I've had her in it all summer. I brought that into my basement, put a box of sand/soil mix with a hot light over it on one side and I'm patiently waiting for something to happen. The vet told me that when her activity and eating really slow down I may be doing the shots to induce egg-laying. She's gone in and out of the sand box a few times a day, just for a few minutes. I think you just have to play with the set up, because the females can be really fussy about where they lay, and reject everything you give them, then either lay in the water or hold them and they need surgery to get them out. All you can do is try and satisfy them, but no guarantees! Hope things happen soon for you and I.

I went to the doctor and she told me to talk to this vet tech that had worked in an exotics practice so i did. she told me to try it for a week. i guess we'll see what happens. i really hope that it works out. im so nervous. i hope everything is going better with you. i think she laid a little bit of yolk yesterday....which freaks me out that an egg broke inside her. i think im going to try to contact an expert.

good luck to you!
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0.0.1 Red Eared Slider

Oh no, just seeing yolk isn't a good thing. Unless it broke after she laid it. I would call the vet and see what they say. Nothing new with my Myrtle, she goes in and out of the sandbox a few times a day, usually when I'm not around ( I make a pattern in the sand so I know when she's been there)and she's still eating, so I just wait. Let us know what the vet says about the yolk. Did you ever get an xray to see about how many she has?

I got x-rays done a couple of weeks ago and i could easily count 10 eggs. the doctor didnt seem to concerned about the turtle...which sorta bothers me. there's a new vet tech and she worked with an exotics vet and asked for his opinion. SO..im going to get xrays done again tomorrow (cuz the other ones werent that great) and depending on how the shells look, then we're going to do something. i forget exactly what she said, but we might have to give more calcium injections and then do it orally...and then we wait basically. she said that her vet said that he's never done surgery on a RES..and that he's seen turtles keep eggs for 2 years. and that it might take her a month or so to lay all her eggs.

they keep asking me if she's showing any symptoms...and she hasnt. she still swims around like crazy and begs for food constantly. i'll keep you updated and i hope myrtle has an easier time.
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0.0.1 Red Eared Slider

I finally got a stool sample from myrtle so I'm heading back to the vet also to get that checked for any defiencies. She hasn't been chasing fish around at all so I bet she's calcium deficient. I do give her shrimp though. she hasn't been as active lately, not basking much, not going into her sandbox. But eating, so I don't know what's going on. I upped the temp of her water, thinking that would perk her up. Holding eggs for 2 years? Wow, that's crazy. I guess myrtle could have had hers for a few months already. She was outside in her pond and I wouldn't have noticed because I didn't pick her up much. Tell us how your xrays go.

So I took her to the vet this morning and they re-did the xrays. i wish i had the other ones from a couple of weeks ago to compare. Anyway, we did it and the eggs are all gone. i guess she basically expressed them out this whole time. i knew her feces looked different. and on one of them, i think i told you, i noticed yolk stuff on it. anyway, the vet tech said that i should be ok. so everything is great. she said that if the turtle did have eggs...depending on how it looked on the xrays, then we'd go a specific route. but now that there arent any eggs...im free to let her do her own thing. so i'm very happy about it. anyway, i want to wish you luck and here's a pic of the xray.

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0.0.1 Red Eared Slider

Wow! That's excellent. Good for you. I look forward to that day of not having to worry about calcification, shots, or worse. My myrtle is still pacing around her pond, and going in and out of the sandbox. Vet says her stools look fine, so we're just waiting and watching some more.